McDonald’s made to face Byron Allen’s $10 billion discrimination case

Media mogul Byron Allen in his $10 billion lawsuit accuses McDonald’s of “racist stereotyping” for not advertising with Black-owned media. Allen accused the fast-food company of relegating his Entertainment Studios Networks Inc and Weather Group LLC to an “African American tier,” complete with a different marketing agency and a much smaller ad budget.

Allen might try to claim that McDonald’s violated federal and California civil rights laws, according to the judge. Loretta Lynch, McDonald’s lawyer, stated that the business saw the action as “about money, not a race,” and that the evidence will establish there was no prejudice.

McDonald’s vowed in May 2021 to increase national ad expenditure with Black-owned media to 5% from 2% by 2024. An earlier version of Allen’s claim found no evidence of intentional and deliberate prejudice against his enterprises.